ROBERT DEWITT: Some bad parts of the good old days are back

Published: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 10:27 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | People my age often pine for “the good old days.” Larry Clayton wrote about that a few weeks back, and I think we’ve reached the same conclusion. The good old days weren’t always so good.

That’s particularly true for me. Now, I’m not saying my teenage years were all bad. I worked at a swimming pool, and how bad can it be when you get paid to sit around all day and get a suntan while staring at pretty girls in bathing suits?

When I wasn’t working at the swimming pool, I was tooling around the University of Alabama in an old convertible sports car. On weekends I went to Alabama football games when the Crimson Tide was at its peak under Paul W. “Bear” Bryant or shot doves and ducks during some of the best years for hunting this state has ever seen. My parents kept me fed and clothed and gave me a nice place to live.

Of course, being a teenager, I thought I was entitled to all of that and didn’t appreciate how good I had it. Youth is always wasted on the wrong people, even when it’s a younger version of yourself. But while I was living a life that now seems princely indeed, the country didn’t have it so good.

After Richard Nixon recklessly squandered in scandal his opportunity to lead the country, a spate of mass temporary insanity led to Jimmy Carter’s election as president. While full of good intentions, he was hopelessly na´ve at a time naivetÚ was extremely dangerous.

And, speaking of dangerous, the world seemed like a pretty scary place at the time. The Soviets had worldwide ambitions that ran contrary to American national interests. And each time the two countries butted heads, everyone knew that it might all end in one big cloud of radiation.

Like a turtle turned on its back, the economy kicked and squirmed but could never get anywhere. Runaway inflation and interest rates meant people couldn’t count on their retirement savings meaning anything.

The decade ended with Iran holding 50 American embassy employees hostage. Americans watched as a country that had largely devolved into anarchy taunted them and the United States, the world’s greatest superpower, just sat idly by.

As is usually the case with societies in decline, there was a rejection of traditional morality. That led to an epidemic of herpes and AIDS.

The whole thing had a devastating effect on the American psyche. The question hung in the air, “Will America survive?” Perhaps that was as unrealistic as the fear that Japan would invade the U.S. mainland after Pearl Harbor. But it’s telling that people had genuine doubt about the answer to that question.

Ever since the economic crisis of 2008, it has seemed as if “good old days” were back again. George Bush’s willingness to spend money and intervene in foreign wars could easily be called reckless. Many people want desperately to believe in President Barack Obama, but he’s allowed the country’s biggest problems to fester while running down rabbit trails like Obamacare and getting mired in scandals that confirm some of his critics’ worst fears.

The Middle East is in turmoil, and this time it’s not just Iran. Multiple countries once friendly to the U.S. may wind up our enemies. The Russians, comatose for two decades since the Soviet collapse, want to reassert their role in world politics. And they still have the nuclear arsenal that makes them a player despite their obvious weaknesses.

Americans are again worried that they won’t have the wherewithal to retire. This time, the fear is that a Wall Street collapse, not runaway inflation, will consume their retirement nest egg. Service on the out-of-

control debt the country has been building for four decades will eventually consume so much of the federal budget that the government will have difficulty performing its basic functions.

Need we say more about

morality than the fact that one man is arguing for his constitutional right to have sexual relations with a goat? Given recent events, his argument isn’t entirely illogical.

As it did more than three decades ago, circumstances are taking a toll on the American psyche again. While things are similar, they’re not the same. Back in the late ’70s, people were fed up and ashamed of the impotence shown in the face of challenges. Americans are no longer concerned that they look cowardly. They seem more disheartened that so many of their fellow countrymen seem to have diametrically opposed goals and that economic problems are long term.

I’d hoped never to see the not-so-good old days again. I hope they’re not here to stay.

Robert DeWitt is senior writer for The Tuscaloosa News. Email him at robert.dewitt@

<p>TUSCALOOSA | People my age often pine for “the good old days.” Larry Clayton wrote about that a few weeks back, and I think we've reached the same conclusion. The good old days weren't always so good.</p><p>That's particularly true for me. Now, I'm not saying my teenage years were all bad. I worked at a swimming pool, and how bad can it be when you get paid to sit around all day and get a suntan while staring at pretty girls in bathing suits?</p><p>When I wasn't working at the swimming pool, I was tooling around the University of Alabama in an old convertible sports car. On weekends I went to Alabama football games when the Crimson Tide was at its peak under Paul W. “Bear” Bryant or shot doves and ducks during some of the best years for hunting this state has ever seen. My parents kept me fed and clothed and gave me a nice place to live.</p><p>Of course, being a teenager, I thought I was entitled to all of that and didn't appreciate how good I had it. Youth is always wasted on the wrong people, even when it's a younger version of yourself. But while I was living a life that now seems princely indeed, the country didn't have it so good.</p><p>After Richard Nixon recklessly squandered in scandal his opportunity to lead the country, a spate of mass temporary insanity led to Jimmy Carter's election as president. While full of good intentions, he was hopelessly na´ve at a time naivetÚ was extremely dangerous.</p><p>And, speaking of dangerous, the world seemed like a pretty scary place at the time. The Soviets had worldwide ambitions that ran contrary to American national interests. And each time the two countries butted heads, everyone knew that it might all end in one big cloud of radiation.</p><p>Like a turtle turned on its back, the economy kicked and squirmed but could never get anywhere. Runaway inflation and interest rates meant people couldn't count on their retirement savings meaning anything.</p><p>The decade ended with Iran holding 50 American embassy employees hostage. Americans watched as a country that had largely devolved into anarchy taunted them and the United States, the world's greatest superpower, just sat idly by.</p><p>As is usually the case with societies in decline, there was a rejection of traditional morality. That led to an epidemic of herpes and AIDS.</p><p>The whole thing had a devastating effect on the American psyche. The question hung in the air, “Will America survive?” Perhaps that was as unrealistic as the fear that Japan would invade the U.S. mainland after Pearl Harbor. But it's telling that people had genuine doubt about the answer to that question.</p><p>Ever since the economic crisis of 2008, it has seemed as if “good old days” were back again. George Bush's willingness to spend money and intervene in foreign wars could easily be called reckless. Many people want desperately to believe in President Barack Obama, but he's allowed the country's biggest problems to fester while running down rabbit trails like Obamacare and getting mired in scandals that confirm some of his critics' worst fears.</p><p>The Middle East is in turmoil, and this time it's not just Iran. Multiple countries once friendly to the U.S. may wind up our enemies. The Russians, comatose for two decades since the Soviet collapse, want to reassert their role in world politics. And they still have the nuclear arsenal that makes them a player despite their obvious weaknesses.</p><p>Americans are again worried that they won't have the wherewithal to retire. This time, the fear is that a Wall Street collapse, not runaway inflation, will consume their retirement nest egg. Service on the out-of-</p><p>control debt the country has been building for four decades will eventually consume so much of the federal budget that the government will have difficulty performing its basic functions.</p><p>Need we say more about </p><p>morality than the fact that one man is arguing for his constitutional right to have sexual relations with a goat? Given recent events, his argument isn't entirely illogical.</p><p>As it did more than three decades ago, circumstances are taking a toll on the American psyche again. While things are similar, they're not the same. Back in the late '70s, people were fed up and ashamed of the impotence shown in the face of challenges. Americans are no longer concerned that they look cowardly. They seem more disheartened that so many of their fellow countrymen seem to have diametrically opposed goals and that economic problems are long term.</p><p>I'd hoped never to see the not-so-good old days again. I hope they're not here to stay.</p><p>Robert DeWitt is senior writer for The Tuscaloosa News. Email him at robert.dewitt@</p><p>tuscaloosanews.com.</p>